A truth universally acknowleged
by little miss dracula
Summary: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mad man in possession of a blue box, must be in want of a companion". The Doctor is alone once again. In modern-day Cardiff, Elizabeth Dashwood dreams of Mr Darcy.
1. In want of a companion

**Hello everyone! :) It's been a while since I've written anything, but I'm back :) **

**This fic was inspired by a shirt I saw online (see it here - people/nyuszi/works/8969935-a-mad-man-in-possession-of-a-blue-box?p=t-shirt&ref=shop_grid ). For anyone who can't see it, it reads "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mad man in possession of a blue box must be in want of a companion". I just love the shirt, (saving up!) and I thought it might make an interesting premise for a fic ^-^ So read on, and let me know what you think :D**

**Update coming soon!**

**L_M_D**

_It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife_

Elizabeth Dashwood sighed as she looked up from the book absent-mindedly. Her eyes drifted around her flat, which looked conspicuously empty.

It had been a week since her boyfriend of over five years had left, taking most of their joint possessions with him. Since then, numbness had set in and life had continued as normal. Until today. With the prospect of an entire day off work, Elizabeth found she suddenly had nothing to do without him.

And so she had turned to Austen. With her favourite book in hand, and a cup of steaming hot tea in front of her, Elizabeth found herself enjoying the prospect of being alone. Curling her feet up underneath her, she reopened _Pride and Prejudice_ and lost herself in the world of 1813.

Five billion and a half light years away, the Doctor whooped as the TARDIS made a quick, if somewhat erratic, flight away from a slightly perilous situation involving some Daleks, a rogue Cyberman, a Hath, and a surprising amount of peanut butter.

He span around, ready to laugh with Clara about the absurdity of the situation, and was greeted, yet again, with the emptiness of the TARDIS.

It had been a week since she had left, he guessed, but he still wasn't used to life without her there. The Doctor's mood dampened slightly, and he turned back to the console with a sigh. The TARDIS hummed in companionship, although the Doctor suspected she was secretly glad of the absence of his Impossible Girl.

He set some coordinates and the TARDIS wheezed into life. He'd go to Cardiff, fill up the TARDIS on the rift, maybe even visit Jack. What was it they called it on Earth? A vacation. He'd take a vacation.

The TARDIS landed, more gently than usual. She must be picking up on his moroseness, the Doctor reasoned. He sighed once more to the empty room, and swung out of the door.

Jack came running up to him almost the moment the Doctor opened the TARDIS door.

"The amount of noise this old girl makes, of course I was going to come running!" he'd laughed. "I could hardly miss it, could I? Nice bowtie, by the way. What brings you to Cardiff?" He winked.

"Nothing. Really. Just, you know, a vacation."

It was then that Jack noticed the absence of anyone else outside the TARDIS, and the sadness that the Doctor could never quite hide.

"Come on," he said, with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. "You need coffee. Good, strong coffee."

"I think I'd rather have tea…" the Doctor protested weakly as Jack clapped an arm around him, and dragged him away.


	2. Chapter Two

**Hello again! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this fic :) And I hope you enjoy this one too! (Also, I promise more Pride and Prejudice is to come... :)) **

**Enjoy, review, follow etc., :)**

**L_M_D**

As Jack and the Doctor reached the front of the queue, a figure darted by them, red hair being pulled up hastily into a ponytail.

"Sorry! I got here as quickly as I could!" squeaked out of the young girl as she took the place of the older man behind the counter.

"No problem, Lizzie, thanks for coming in last minute. I know you were looking forward to your day off."

"It's okay, it's better to be busy" The red-haired girl flashed a smile at Jack. "And just in time to serve my regular. The usual, Jack?"

"Please, darling. And a coffee for this young man." He slapped the Doctor's back in what the Doctor assumed was camaraderie.

"Actually, I'll have tea. Please."

The girl nodded and turned back to Jack.

"Want me to bring it over?"

"Thanks, gorgeous."

Jack led the Doctor over to a table.

"Pretty little thing isn't she? Been trying to work my magic on that one for _months_."

"Really?" the Doctor asked, as awkward as he ever was. He leaned back on the admittedly comfortable sofa, slightly happier than earlier. It was good to see Jack, and good to know at least some things don't change.

Jack was still nattering away when the young girl brought over a coffee and a pot of tea. Her eyes met the Doctor when she placed the cup in front of him and the Doctor felt a jolt somewhere in his stomach.

Her eyes were so _young_. He didn't know if he believed in what these humans called a _soul_, but if there was one, hers was new.

Her thoughts were less philosophical. A good looking man, she thought on her way back to the counter. Dark, and something brooding about his eyes. Jack was her Wickham, she thought. But this friend of his, he was more like the Darcy of her imagination.

She allowed herself a small chuckle, and then swiftly got back to work. It was a distraction, that was all.

The Doctor and Jack spent many hours in the coffee shop, only leaving when the girl ushered them out as she locked the door.

"So when are you going to meet me for a drink, my darling Elizabeth?" Jack joked cheekily.

"Maybe next time, Jack." She laughed as she walked away, swinging her bag over her shoulder.

Jack and the Doctor returned to the TARDIS, Elizabeth to her empty flat. The Doctor could not escape the strange feeling that had begun when he'd met the eyes of the red-haired girl. It was a feeling strangely like dread.

Jack had dismissed it as lust, but the Doctor pushed his hair out of his eyes and did a scan for alien tech using the TARDIS. Nothing registered. Concerned, he furrowed his brow and straightened his bow-tie. It most certainly could not be lust, he told himself. He was past all that…_funny business_… now. And he'd felt lust before, he allowed himself to remember, in his old self. This was something else.

As Elizabeth made a cup of tea, forcing herself not to make two out of habit, the strange young man with the red bow-tie lingered in her mind a moment, before he was pushed out by the world of Elizabeth Bennet.

Outside, a bin fell. Foxes, Elizabeth guessed. They had become more common of late, often snuffling around bins in residential areas, and even being spotted in the centre of the city, seemingly oblivious to the humans around them. She padded downstairs in her slippers, intending to scare off the fox, but as she opened the door it stood directly in front of her, _staring _at her, she was sure. Its three tails stood up proudly, a fact Elizabeth didn't register until much later that night. _Go on_, it's eyes challenged her, _pet me_, _touch me_, _I'm tame_. Drawn irresistibly towards it, Elizabeth stretched out her hand. As her hand reached within an inch of the fox, a clamour came from an alleyway nearby, and Jack Harkness jumped over a rolling rubbish bin.

"Do _not _touch that fox!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Apologies for the long delay in updating, I've been crazy busy at work and my social schedule suddenly blew up unexpectedly. Things seem to be returning to normal so hopefully the next update won't be as long. Thank you to the lovely people who have favourited/followed this story, I hope you continue to enjoy it :D**

**L_M_D**

_Earlier_

A companionable silence had fallen some five minutes ago. The Doctor was tinkering in the depths of the TARDIS console, whilst Jack messaged one of his latest Earth conquests.

"Jack, are you _snuffling_?" the Doctor asked, popping his head up from underneath the console.

"I thought that was you." Jack replied, frowning. "I didn't like to ask…"

The two exchanged a glance. _Trouble_.

Silently, they made their way to the TARDIS doors. As they positioned themselves on either side, the Doctor shook his head at Jack, who had pulled out a sonic gun. The Doctor removed his sonic screwdriver from his pocket. On a silent count of three, they pushed open the double doors, Jack doing a highly stylised jump, shouting all the while.

At a fox.

The Doctor began to chuckle slightly, shaking his head at the captain.

Jack, however, did not put his gun down.

"Erm, Doctor, hate to ruin your moment, I really do, but are you sure that's just a fox?"

The Doctor pushed his hair back.

"Of course it's just a fox, standard Earth fox. Reddish coloured fur, three tails…" He paused. "Hang on, this fox has three tails…"

He pulled his sonic screwdriver back out of his pocket. Advancing slowly towards the animal, he scanned it carefully.

"Strange, no readings at all. It's like it's not even there…"

Jack lowered his gun slightly.

"But how is that even possible?"

"It's not…"

"Is that… is that what I think it is, Doctor?"

The Doctor met Jack's eyes and confirmed his suspicions.

"Kitsune."

As though charmed, on being named the creature trotted off down the road, seemingly quite merrily. After a hundred yards or so, it turned to look straight at Jack and the Doctor, before continuing on its way.

"We shouldn't follow it, should we, Doctor?" Jack asked, already half-laughing. The Timelord joined in, and they ran off down the road.

The clatter of bins and subsequent movie-star leap, Jack will tell you, was _entirely_ planned.

Both Elizabeth Dashwood and the Doctor doubt this version of events entirely.

What _is_ certain, that upon noticing Elizabeth Dashwood standing in front of the Kitsune, her arm outstretched, Jack lowered his gun immediately. The Doctor was following close behind, but kept his sonic screwdriver outstretched.

Elizabeth snapped out of the trance she seemed to have been in, and looked from Jack to the Doctor, noticing immediately the chill of the evening.

"Jack?" she asked in a small voice.

"Just, don't touch it, okay, Lizzie?"

Elizabeth turned back to the fox. It looked imploringly at her, its begging eyes glinting green and gold in the moonlight. It took a lot of willpower to wrench her eyes away again, taking in the young man with the bow-tie and floppy hair, before returning to her handsome admirer.

The only thing she could think of to say was to invite Jack and his friend in for a coffee. Jack accepted immediately, as was his wont when anything attractive mentioned the word "coffee", and the Doctor followed in a slightly bemused fashion, fiddling with his sonic screwdriver as he went.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thought I had a major nightmare on my hands when I wrote half of this chapter and then lost the entire document (thanks for nothing, laptop)! But managed to remember a fair amount of it. **

**So, the Doctor and Elizabeth talk time travel, and a trip is suggested...**

**Enjoy and do please leave a review, I love feedback!**

**L_M_D**

As the somewhat unlikely looking trio settled in Elizabeth's empty living room, with a sneaky glance outside from Elizabeth to assure herself that the fox had not followed her into her house (it hadn't, and it remained on the front porch, staring up at her), the Doctor looked at her quizzically.

"Why you?" he asked, scanning her with his sonic, looking as though he expected her to know what he was talking about? "Have you ever travelled in time?"

She looked at him, slightly gone out. Her gaze drifted to Jack, her eyes widening in alarm as he didn't immediately drag his friend away to Bedlam.

"Well…" she began, "no, because it's not physically possible…"

"Of course it is!" the Doctor flailed his arms in the air, kicking himself back into his chair, before launching into a very complicated and verbose explanation of the laws of time and space.

During this ramble, which lasted above twenty minutes, Elizabeth Dashwood stared at Jack, at the man who came into the tea shop every day and ordered a cappuccino, sometimes with a slice of homemade raspberry cake, and sat on the same sofa near the window. The man who called her Lizzie and winked at her and always, always asked if he could take her for a drink. Who'd smiled and made her day when it was raining. And now she saw him, as though they communicated the whole thing telepathically. That he wasn't the man who came into her coffee shop, but a stranger, a handsome stranger, who knew all about foxes with three tails, and precisely why she shouldn't touch it, and time travel, and who had possibly time travelled (although the idea was still somewhat alien to her), and… _oh god what if he's an alien_... The room span a little and Elizabeth clutched her mug of tea closer.

"So that's just the general idea anyway," the Doctor finished his spiel.

"Well, no, I've never… time travelled." Elizabeth wrenched herself into reality to reply to her unexpected guest.

"Strange, you've got traces…"

"There is the rift, Doctor… Could that have anything to do with it?" Jack turned to the Doctor, sending Elizabeth into further spinning worlds of confusion.

"Can someone _please_ just tell me what's happening?" her small voice broke through the quiet conversation between the Doctor and Jack. Both men looked at her, sat in her own living room, contemplating how weird it was that _everything _about her reality, from the apparent love of her life to the very laws of science she had always uncomprehendingly believed in, had come falling down around her ears within a few short days. Jack's arm was immediately around her shoulders, his comforting voice assuring her that everything was fine. The Doctor's face creased in concern. The air in the room was thick with human fear. He glanced around, noting the creased and well-thumbed copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ on the coffee table.

"1813." He stated bluntly, and although to him it was a perfectly logical statement to make based on his current thought process, both Jack and Elizabeth paused to look at him inquiringly.

He pointed to the book on the table.

"1813. When _Pride and Prejudice _was published. You should go there."

"What, in my time machine?" Elizabeth snapped sarcastically, the events of the evening having taken their toll.

"No, in my TARDIS. That's Time And Relative Dimension In Space." He grinned proudly. Elizabeth continued to glare. "Look, the Kitsune, this fox that's following you, for some reason it thinks you're special in some way," Elizabeth's glare deepened to a look Jack would later describe as more terrifying than hearing twenty Daleks, forty Cybermen and some Slitheen creep out from your wardrobe at four in the morning. "You should take a trip with me. To make them lose track of you. The Kitsune, they're determined, but not particularly adept at travelling in time, so a quick trip would probably be enough to deter them from trying to possess you."

"From trying to do _what_?"

"Possess you. In order to continue to wreak minor havoc and chaos on… Cardiff…"

"So, let me just clear up a few things… There is a fox, outside my flat, which wants to _possess _me in order to bring chaos to the world and in order to make the fox _not _want to possess me anymore, I should go to a few balls in 1813 in your, whatever you called it, and then… problem solved!"

"Well, it's not _technically _a fox, it's a mischievous spirit called a Kitsune… but yep, that just about covers it!" The Doctor smiled brightly.

"Oh, of course, sorry…" Elizabeth's head swam some more, the room went fuzzy, then dark, and our heroine, much to her later embarrassment, fainted.


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter has taken a LOT longer to get done than I would have liked. All my fault, I've been too busy writing a film script. Still, here it is. I'm not overly happy with this chapter, but it's necessary to get to the place I want, which is 1813! :D Anyway, here we go. **

**L_M_D**

When Elizabeth slowly woke up, she was relieved to find herself still on her own sofa. She stretched slightly, knowing she'd only been out a few minutes from the lack of ache in her limbs. Jack sat on the floor next to her, the Doctor stood in front of him. They were deep in conversation, so much so they didn't notice the waking Elizabeth.

"What makes you so sure it'll stop following her?"

"I'm not. But we can't have a possessed Kitsune wandering around Cardiff, it'll cause hell for your lot at Torchwood. And it'll draw interest… interest you don't necessarily want. Kitsune are hard to find… a fully matured Kitsune could be a very valuable commodity to some species…"

Elizabeth made a slight noise of protest before she could stop herself.

Jack whipped his head around and asked how she was doing.

Elizabeth, for once, ignored him, instead staring straight at the Doctor.

"Why do they want me?"

"I don't know. You're young, which makes it easier for them to take control of you…"

"I'm twenty-five!" she interrupted in protest. The Doctor smiled slightly.

"And they generally like… um… _attractive_… people…"

Elizabeth had the grace to blush, whilst Jack winked at her.

"So… _time travelling_… that'll help… right?"

"Well, yes theoretically it ought to help…"

"Then let's do it." There was a steely determination in her face that Jack couldn't argue with if he'd tried.

The boys led Elizabeth to the TARDIS, Jack kindly explaining the concept of the 'bigger on the inside' technology to her on the way, mostly in the hope that she wouldn't faint again. She still had to hold in a slightly incredulous laugh when they stopped outside of a 1960s blue Police box and contented herself with an amused raised eyebrow, which didn't escape the attention of the Doctor. He was actually rather hurt.

He led the way into his treasured TARDIS, trailing a hand along the console to make up for Elizabeth's mocking look. Elizabeth followed, with Jack close behind. As she saw the inside of the TARDIS for the first time, determined not to swoon like a Bennet sister, Elizabeth gripped the handrails tightly, swallowed her fear, and strode into the machine as though time travel was a perfectly everyday occurrence, thank you very much.

As the Doctor set the coordinates, Jack led Elizabeth to the wardrobe of the TARDIS (in not a completely subtle effort to at least peak underneath the jeans and jumpers she usually wore, and also to answer the barrage of questions he knew she would have).

After a brief moment of appreciation for the beauty of the array of costumes in front of her, Elizabeth indeed turned to Jack, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well?" she demanded. Jack sank into a handily placed seat and smiled sheepishly.

"It's _kind of _a long story."

"Then be concise." She raised an eyebrow and Jack sighed.

"Fine. The quick version is this: I'm an alien, he's an alien. I'm from a planet in the Boeshane Peninsula in the 51st century , he's the last of a race called the Time Lords. I'm immortal, after a very complicated accident involving an old…companion… of his, who revived me after I was killed fighting the Daleks…"

"Stop." Elizabeth sighed slightly. "This is all a bit too complicated for me. And now I have to pick out an outfit suitable for the early 1800s. I work in a teashop for Christ's sake. Why is this happening to me?"

"Trust me, once you've travelled in the TARDIS, you'll never want to stop."

When Elizabeth walked back into the console room on the arm of a _very_ dapper looking Jack Harkness, in a pale blue ball gown and with her hair up in an elegant twist that the Doctor suspected Jack had helped her with, the Doctor went to say something, and couldn't. Only Jack understood precisely why. Elizabeth was too busy being incredibly nervous.

"After you, my darling Miss Dashwood." Jack gestured to the doors. With a slightly incredulous look on her face, Elizabeth pushed open the door, so gently it seemed she wasn't sure it would really open at all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! Sorry for the long absence, I've been away on holiday! But now I'm back I hope to start updating regularly :D Anyway, enjoy this chapter - in which we finally reach 1813 and meet a rather familiar man...**

**Enjoy! **

**L_M_D**

As she stepped out of the TARDIS, Elizabeth felt so lightheaded she thought she would faint again. Despite the somewhat confusing events that had taken place in the last few hours, she still hadn't _quite_ believed that the world of 1813, the world of her favourite author, would be outside the doors of the strange machine. Most of her had been convinced she would step out into the centre of Cardiff, a TV crew waiting to film her for some prank TV show. This couldn't be real. Yet there they were, in front of a pair of very real looking doors, which, when she tried them, opened out onto a long, wide ballroom. There were people dancing who didn't look like actors, each and every one of them decked out in their best early 19th century clothes. A well-dressed young woman swept past on the arm of a man in the red jacket of the militia, giggling and blushing. Elizabeth broke into a smile.

She felt Jack's hand on her arm a second before she heard him.

"May I have the next dance, Miss Dashwood?"

Elizabeth spun around suddenly.

"I don't know how to dance!"

"Trust me, I do. Just follow my lead." Jack smiled in return.

They danced twice consecutively, allowing Elizabeth plenty of time to ask the many questions that flooded her inquisitive mind. Jack explained why no one appeared to question the appearance of three strangers at the ball (psychic paper), and the fact no one had screamed that a police call box from the future had appeared in a small antechamber (people, put bluntly, ignore what seems impossible).

Jack left Elizabeth by a group of talkative elderly men as he went to fetch them both a glass of something fizzy. Smiling, Elizabeth took in the general splendour of the room, not even noticing the absence of the eccentric alien in the bow tie and tweed jacket. Suddenly a dark haired man was in front of her, bowing. She curtsied quickly, and somewhat clumsily, suddenly chokingly aware of her modernity.

"Unless your husband will object, may I partner you for the next dance?"

"Husband?" Elizabeth asked, confused. The man waited. "Oh! You must mean Jack… He's not my husband, he's my… my… chaperone. A cousin."

"A cousin?"

"Second cousin. On my father's side." She added, painfully aware of the lack of familial resemblance. The man, however, seemed to accept her explanation and took her hand to lead her to the dancefloor.

"May I enquire as to the name of my fair partner?"

"Oh! Elizabeth Dashwood, Mr…?"

"Darcy. Fitzwilliam Darcy, of Derbyshire."

"You're actually joking?" Elizabeth stopped short.

"Are you suggesting I am impersonating someone?"

"No! No! Of course not! I… I merely am loosely connected with Derbyshire myself and… um… had heard of you by reputation. I did not expect to find someone from your family at a public ball."

By the slight incline of his head, Elizabeth guessed Darcy had, once again, accepted her hastily made up story. Elizabeth internally breathed a sigh of relief, and then once again the surreal nature of the conversation hit her and she almost giggled. So there really was a Mr Darcy of Derbyshire. She again wondered if these people were actors, but as she and her partner took their places in the line, she realised it seemed far too surreal to be anything but reality.

The music struck up, and they began to dance.


	7. Chapter 7

Less than a minute into the dance, a commotion at the other end of the hall forced Elizabeth and her fantasy partner to stop, hand in gloved hand. They turned towards the hubbub, and Elizabeth reddened as the Doctor, albeit one decked out in a rather smart evening suit, was revealed to be the cause. He was doing something that she presumed constituted as dancing on whatever planet he came from; on Earth it appeared as a lot of arm flailing and limbs that looked just a little bit too long for his body.

"What an imbecile." The man at her side was looking scornfully at the Doctor, and Elizabeth couldn't help but join him. For all he was apparently an alien with a so-called impressive spaceship, he looked rather ridiculous with his long hair flopping over his forehead, especially in comparison to her imposing dance partner. Besides he was an… _alien_… and no matter how much he looked like a human, she was sure she could never trust him. Didn't aliens take people to experiment on, or something like that? And Jack, her sweet, darling Jack, even now effortlessly flirting with half of the room, his Hollywood smile flashing… he wasn't the same guy she knew.

Logically she knew she was being ridiculous. Jack had never _specified _that he was human… but then who needed to do that? Maybe she was at fault for not thinking more open-mindedly… but then if she assumed every other person on the street was from space, she might go mad.

_Had _she gone mad? She was, after all, standing very close to Mr Darcy of Derbyshire, who was telling her about trout fishing in a rather enthusiastic manner. _Hm…_ she thought, _Jane Austen never mentioned that_… But he was still the man of her dreams; tall, dark, handsome and so beautifully aloof that it took her breath away and made her simper and flirt more than Lydia Wickham. What girl _doesn't_ want her very own Mr Darcy… right?

Suddenly Jack, her 'cousin' and chaperone, was at her elbow.

"My darling," he exclaimed loudly enough to get her attention, and the attention of the enthusiastic Darcy. "I simply must return with you to our… carriage… the Doctor is most anxious that he sees you… _at once" _he added, to impress on her the urgency.

"The doctor?" Darcy asked, sounding charmingly worried.

"A slight complaint… headaches, you understand." She lied fluently once more, somewhat worried what this new found talent meant about her as a person.

Elizabeth allowed herself to be pulled away from the handsome Darcy, with more than a slight twinge of annoyance.

"_Now _what does he want?!" she asked, rather too angrily, judging from the strange look Jack gave her, before he replied in a low voice

"There's been some complications, with the Kitsune… You need to get back to the TARDIS."

"Did this complication arrive before or after his ridiculous dancing?"

Jack didn't answer. Somehow that was worse. Elizabeth felt the full weight of her words, shocked at her own meanness.

"I didn't mean that."

Jack stopped them just outside the TARDIS.

"Look, I know this is all completely crazy. We've just dragged you out of your own world and forced you into ours. But our world… it's pretty beautiful, if you let yourself see it."

Elizabeth smiled.

"I know. I just danced with Mr Darcy! It doesn't get much better than that."

A strange look passed over Jack's face.

"Just… don't dismiss the Doctor, just because he's a little, well, odd. Just remember, he's a good man. And he's trying his best to save you right now."


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, so I've had this written for a while now, but I've been tinkering with it a lot (one of my more obvious perfectionist phases), but I think it's finally ready to post, so here you go! **

**Enjoy, Reader.**

**L_M_D**

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was uncharacteristically quiet. He turned to face Jack and Elizabeth as they walked in. Sensing the unease, Jack excused himself, joking about a young lady and a badly thought out proposal he needed to rectify. The Doctor only smiled weakly.

Elizabeth began to worry as the silence in the strange and yet now oddly familiar machine.

"What is it?" she finally asked.

The Doctor simply sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. (Hair which, Elizabeth realised, was frankly too good to be entirely real.)

The silence stretched.

"Doctor…?" Elizabeth's voice was small. The realisation had suddenly hit her that she was alone in this world. _Then again_, she thought, _I was alone before_. At least now, she reasoned, she had this man. _Who I know nothing about_!... _And yet, I trust him. This strange man with his strange box and his all too complicated world…_

"Help me. Please, Doctor. Help me."

He finally looked up at her, and their eyes met. The jolt in Elizabeth's stomach could wait, the more important thing in her mind was the sadness, the _pain_, in his eyes.

"What is it?" she asked.

He turned away from her, fiddling with the controls on the TARDIS console absentmindedly.

"It's the Kitsune." He said, after a considerable pause. "It's… _they've… _followed us. They're here."

"They?"

"I… miscalculated… that is, they didn't show up on the TARDIS systems. I don't know why. I'm sorry."

And suddenly Elizabeth was washed with a sense of shame.

"This isn't your fault, Doctor. You're a good man… a little strange," she laughed, "but I know you were, _are_, trying to help me." She thought of the scorn with which her and Darcy had watched him dancing and thought something that she never believed she could: _Elizabeth Bennett, you're welcome to him_.

The Doctor grinned in his hopelessly ridiculous way.

"So?" Elizabeth continued. "What do we do?"

Jack's voice appeared from behind her.

"That, darling, is where I come in."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile.

"Why, what are you going to do, charm them to death?" she laughed, beside herself at the absurd _reality_ of it all.

Jack smirked back.

"That, my dear Miss Dashwood, is _precisely_ what I'm going to do."

Ten minutes later and the trio were crouched in an inconveniently cramped ante-chamber, which Jack seemed to be enjoying far too much to concentrate on his end of the discussion. The discussion was on how best to go about actually capturing the leading Kitsune, once Jack had charmed his way into making it go after him, not Lizzie. _Clearly_, Elizabeth thought, not unkindly,_ planning is not something they do very often._

"So, what makes you think that the Kitsune will go for Jack instead of me?" she asked the Doctor. Since they were so closely confined, conversation seemed like the only polite way to relieve the awkwardness, and she was after all, British.

"Not entirely sure… To be honest, I'm not sure this is going to work."

"Reassuring, Doctor. Really reassuring."


	9. Chapter 9

**Once again, I've been massively busy! I've just started studying for my Master's degree, which is super-exciting and vaguely terrifying. Plus I'm also now working nearly full time and making room in my life for a little bit of theatre! So this has taken much longer than I wanted it too, so sorry if you've been eagerly waiting (I know it's edge of the seat stuff :P) But seriously, enjoy this chapter and thank you so much to all of you who are reviewing and following this story. It means a lot :D**

**L_M_D**

Jack flashed a charming grin.

"Darling, I've been around for a long time. There's very little that can withstand my charms." He winked at Elizabeth, nodded at the Doctor, muttered "Here goes," pushed open the door, and strode out into the ballroom.

"Well he's confident, I'll give him that one," Elizabeth smiled, stretching her limbs in the now slightly roomier antechamber. _Cupboard_ she thought, _I'm pretty sure this is actually a cupboard. _

From their position, with the door positioned so as to give a slither of light, they watched Jack flirt his way to the other end of the ballroom, pausing occasionally to tuck a strand of hair behind a lady's ear, or to brush the dust off a gentleman's jacket.

Crouched in a somewhat unnatural position for gangly man such as himself, next to a girl who he barely knew and who for some reason had been acting more distressed than excited about the fact they were currently in what was her past, the Doctor once again the same apprehensiveness that he had felt in the TARDIS; unease, vague dread, the kind of dread where you're not actually sure what you're afraid of, which is categorically the worst kind. Jack had earlier dismissed it as lust, given its immediate connection with the redhead next to him, and no doubt would again, probably with a sly insinuation about the fact they were alone together in a cupboard. The Doctor once again dismissed it as ludicrous. Yet, the feeling was connected with the girl, in a way he couldn't quite dismiss with the explanation that she was being stalked by a Kitsune. He frowned, shook his hair from his face, and turned his attention back to Jack.

Jack had nearly completed a circuit of the room and was heading back towards their cupboard. Elizabeth shifted to make room for him to crouch down with them, steadying herself on the Doctor's shoulder. Finally, Jack joined them, positioning himself on the other side of Elizabeth.

"Well, guys, the good news is that there isn't a fully-fledged Kitsune out there, not one of those guys is possessed. The bad news is there's a hell of a lot of foxes outside on the lawn…"

The Doctor didn't reply, only gave Jack a loaded look, which Jack seemed to return. Confused, Elizabeth looked over at Jack, noticing, not for the first time, how incredibly handsome she found him. He had an eyelash on his cheek, just below his eye, and she had an indescribable urge to brush it away. She had reached out her had to do so when the Doctor jumped up; considering the small amount of space they had to begin with, this caused some considerable disruption.

"I have a plan!"

His flailing limbs knocked what appeared to be a bucket off a shelf, which narrowly missed Elizabeth's head. Broken from the trance induced by Jack's eyelash, she looked up at the Doctor in surprise.

"You have a plan?"

"Well… not strictly a plan… an idea!" When she continued to look sceptical, he elaborated. "Well, a thought. More of an inkling. But that's beside the point!"

Both Elizabeth and Jack smiled.

"We need to be more direct!" the Doctor continued, his elbows narrowly avoiding bringing down several more items onto his companions. "Come on, we're going outside."

They edged their way along the outskirts of the ballroom, the Doctor insistent that they didn't draw any attention to Elizabeth. The two men stood like guards on either side of her, blocking her from view as much as possible.

Once they reached the open French doors, the trio continued outside.

Scattered around the visible are of what were clearly some immense grounds, some thirty or forty foxes, all with at least two tails (one or two, Elizabeth noted, had four). Once more feeling that same, sleepy, trance-like state which had overcome her outside her house, Elizabeth continued on even after the Doctor and Jack had stopped just after the patio. In the midst of the Kitsune, underneath the fullest moon the Doctor had seen on Earth, Elizabeth's pale skin took on an unearthly glow.

The Doctor glanced at Jack, and was alarmed to see that he seemed entranced by Elizabeth, the hand that had been permanently and carefully on top of his gun, ready to draw, steadily moving back to his side.

"Elizabeth?" The Doctor called out. "Elizabeth?"

There was no response. She didn't even turn around.

"Lizzie?" He tried again. "Elizabeth Dashwood?"

Still nothing.

He took out his sonic screwdriver, and scanned.

This time, the readings were off the scale.


End file.
